


Frustration

by Punzel23



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: Claire Browne/Neil Melendez - Freeform, F/M, Melendaire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:01:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23936491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Punzel23/pseuds/Punzel23
Summary: Taking advantage of nothing else to do and trying my hand at more Melendaire :). Hope you enjoy!
Relationships: Claire Browne/Neil Melendez
Comments: 28
Kudos: 79





	1. Frustration

**Author's Note:**

> Taking advantage of nothing else to do and trying my hand at more Melendaire :). Hope you enjoy!

Over the last few months, frustration had started to fester between Dr. Melendez and Dr. Browne.  
Initially, he was the mentor that helped her find the way to pull herself out of a dark, empty place.  
Somewhere along the way that relationship started to evolve into something else.  
Neither was sure of when exactly these changes took place. It was something that happened slowly over time.  
So slowly that you don’t even realize it’s happening until one day, there’s something that happens that makes you realize everything is different. 

For most potential couples this type of situation can go a few different ways. Sometimes it works fantastically,  
and the other person discovers their feelings are more than friends as well. Other times, it fails horribly with Person A  
having romantic feelings and Person B only having friendship feelings making the friendship awkward from that point and  
difficult because the two don’t feel the same. There are also those couples where Person A is afraid Person B doesn’t feel the  
same and so they hold it all inside as not to make their friendship awkward and not lose this person they’d rather want in secret than to lose them in public. 

Then, there is the situation which Dr. Melendez and Dr. Browne find themselves.  
The one where you haven’t spoken of romance not because you haven’t thought about it but because it’s not allowed.  
You are pretty confident that the other person feels the exact same way but it’s against the rules, essentially becoming a forbidden fruit.  
At first it was fine, there was a slight awkwardness at times but only because of denied desires.  
They thought they had found a balance though of not crossing the line, but still being in a platonic relationship. 

When Claire first started at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital as a Resident, she was viewed as smart, but not completely committed due to her lack of timeliness and drive. She had to be paged 3 or 4 times before she would answer in various instances. She was smart and understanding things seemed to come easy to her which meant she didn’t have to always put a lot into learning to get by. She was also pretty, which both helped and hurt her cause. There were things she could get by with that others would overlook because of it and times when people didn’t take her seriously to begin with because of it. 

Things began to change for her when Dr. Shaun Murphy showed up. He inspired her and intrigued her.  
For so long self-confidence and doubt had plagued her so she played it safe, but she had learned to take chances and  
as those started to build into successes, she became more confident in being a doctor as she also took in the knowledge from the talented surgeons around her. 

All of the surgeons were good at what they did. Dr. Glassman was older, stern, but had a caring side which he showed by bringing in Dr. Murphy. Dr. Andrews was arrogant and seemed to have something to prove. He was always busy going after Dr. Glassman’s job that he was in his own world. Dr. Lim was ambitious. She is smart, but a little rough around the edges and high on expectations for other women. Then, there was Dr. Melendez. He was extremely easy on the eyes, smart, talented, arrogant but with the skill to back it up, and hot – was that mentioned already? Melendez became her favorite surgeon to work with. He was able to think outside the box, he was confident, and he explained things. He challenged residents to show their knowledge and communicate their points which could sometimes be extremely annoying but once his respect was earned it was a fantastic feeling. Claire was attracted to him, after all, who wouldn’t be? She had even been caught accidentally flirting with him a couple of times by Shaun. She honestly didn’t even realize it at the time and consciously tried to stop. 

She and Melendez had butted heads a few times. In fact, six months into her working at the hospital she approached him with a solution for a patient’s problem and while he admitted the idea was brilliant, he also discounted that it must’ve been Shaun’s. She explained it wasn’t but again he discounted it by saying it probably grew off something Shaun had mentioned. She again, disputed it but he passed it off. She persisted though, handing him the i-Pad with the details explaining that it would take a brilliant surgeon to pull it off and that the surgeon was him. He recognized the flattery but accepted it as well. It was around this time where he started to view her as more serious. Then there was the time that he kicked her off his service because she went around him only to accept her idea when the attendings voted. “You had a good argument,” he told her. Andrews made him take her back, so to soothe this and show that she could be a team player she gave him an apology so that he had cover and didn’t look weak for having to take her back. She was strong, independent, a great communicator, and had a big heart. Melendez saw a lot of similarities to himself with her. On more than one occasion he reminded her she was special and to not compete with everyone else but to sharpen her skills and strength which would allow her to come out on top. 

Neil treated all of his residents fairly. Dr. Browne was definitely one of his favorites and it was due to her love of being a doctor and her talent. She was an amazing communicator which is a skill that many doctors lack. Had he flirted with her? Yes. It wasn’t really a thought at the time, he did it and was innocent in the sense that there was no innuendo or anything actually happening. After all, when they first met, he was engaged. Even after that had ended, there was known truth that he was her attending and she is his resident. When they began to spend time together outside the hospital and become friends, he first worried some about how it would be perceived. Then again, Glassman who was the President of the hospital was Shaun Murphy’s mentor and friend. He convinced himself this was no different.


	2. It started with running...

It started with running. He had suggested it as a way to clear her head in addition to the therapy she was already going to. It had been a while since he had a friend to run with, it was a nice change of pace. Their competitiveness, the conversation, the laughing was therapy in itself for both of them. After a couple months, the rumors started. He had heard whispers but ignored them, after all they weren’t true. Then someone decided to file a formal complaint which brought Dr. Lim into the picture. To add insult to injury, his ex-girlfriend was having to address this with him. He assured her there was nothing inappropriate going on. She didn’t completely buy it. 

When he told Claire that their runs had to stop, he could see she was hurt and felt like she was being abandoned. It hurt him as a mentor and friend to think that she felt like rumors started so he’s washing his hands of the situation. In her angry argument she complained that male and female collogues can’t have a mentoring relationship because of rumors. She ranted about why people make a big deal over a platonic friendship. He understood and agreed with her. After a few days of trying to sort things out of what the right thing to do was, which included pissing her off at one point because he dismissed her surgery concerns about a patient, to pissing both the residents working with him off showing them he could just do the work himself. 

He thought that was the end, until the night he sat down at the bar and she came up and took a seat beside him. She wasn’t letting this friendship just go, because it meant something to her too. He felt the same way, screw the rumors they could have a platonic friendship and people would have to learn to accept it. 

Soon, they would go bowling together, catch a movie or grab some dinner. At work, their friendliness outside never played a part in their interactions. She didn’t expect him to know things she thought or felt or expect to get by with things because of their friendship. Lim suggested moving her to Andrews rotation and Melendez declined. There was no issue and doing that would make it seem as though there was. 

Then one day, one of Claire’s old friends showed up at the hospital. Melendez had treated his wife during her battle with cancer. Claire had told her friends he was the most brilliant surgeon she’d ever worked with and they weren’t out of options until he said so. It was during a time when they were not on the best of terms, but the fact that she still felt that way and was willing to refer a friend to him said a lot about her character and what she honestly thought about him. 

He recognized Dash as soon as he saw his face but didn’t know why he was there. Claire seemed happy to see him, but as he walked towards the elevator with Shaun and glanced back at them, the moment where he realized he felt so much more than friendship for her hit him. 

He buried it as quickly as he could but not well enough. He even tried to encourage her to be happy. He felt the knife twisting in his heart as he did it, but he couldn’t offer her anything and she deserved happiness. When Dash sent her flowers he pointed out, without thinking, that he didn’t think she liked romantics. He felt like he sounded a little jealous once the words came out but she didn’t seem to realize it. She told him they hadn’t even kissed yet and while it secretly made him happy, he had to ask why. Maybe she’d realize that it was because she wasn’t attracted to Dash in a romantic way. “Hadn’t seemed like the right time” she replied.   
Before leaving that night, he told her “if he’s the right guy, don’t wait for the right time.” It was advice he wished someone would give him about her. Give him permission to have these feelings. 

Claire felt a little silly when she admitted that she and Dash hadn’t even kissed yet. She was also curious to see Neil’s reaction too. Did he care? She wasn’t totally sure or maybe she wasn’t ready to admit that she wanted him to care. That night when she and Dash were leaving the club, she kissed him. It was nothing to write about and she knew they were just friends. Going home, she didn’t think much about it but rather on the surgery planned for the next day. She was still frustrated that she couldn’t find a solution she felt was worthy and that Shaun was not giving her any help. 

Walking into the lounge the next day Dr. Melendez was there and had an idea, “actually it was yours” he told her handing her the tablet. It was a tweak to an idea she had begun. It worked wonderfully but she still felt bad because he caused an argument with Shaun the day before where he accused Melendez of trying to be nice to Claire. In the surgery though, even Shaun admitted that it was a good idea. Regardless, when leaving for the evening she decided to stop in Neil’s office to let him know the test results. He told her they did a good thing today because of her. For some reason she still wanted to apologize for causing any hassle but held back, she was still learning to accept that sometimes she was in fact right. 

Neil could see the self-doubt on her face especially when Murphy couldn’t agree with her. He left it between them for the most part but he knew it still got to her. “Your commitment to your patients reminds me why I got into medicine. You make me a better surgeon” he said pausing, “a better person” he said throwing his feelings out there the best he could without taking steps towards her and kissing her lips right there in the office. 

“Goodnight” she simply replied with a smile. Once she turned, she realized she was holding her breath. She was had fallen and didn’t have full confirmation until right now. She was pretty sure he was telling her the same thing but had no idea and this was not the place to explore that. “Goodnight” she repeated looking in the mirror as she got ready for bed. “That’s the best you had?” she asked rhetorically. 

The next day, things went on as normal. Morgan was having surgery on her hands, so it was just Claire working with Melendez. They both enjoyed it, and he even let her be lead on a surgery. She didn’t mention it to any of the other residents, as she knew it would just be complained about. One evening as she went to leave she stuck her head in the door, “Hey, you wanna grab a bite to eat?” she asked with a smile.   
“No plans with Dash tonight?” he asked curiously.  
She leaned against the door with a small laugh. “No, we broke- we realized we were friends. We technically didn’t break up because there was nothing to break. If that makes sense” she laughed.   
Neil nodded, “yeah, it happens” he smiled. “Um, sure. Let me finish this email and I’ll meet you outside”   
“Sounds good” she smiled. She felt an excitement that she wasn’t quiet used to. She had to try and bury it because she knew it shouldn’t be there. After all, she had pushed this platonic friendship narrative and been very adamite with everyone that said something about it. 

Neil had felt more excited than he should have about dinner. Thinking back, it was now when he allowed himself to start and step over that line consciously. Leaning in closer in a loud restaurant to say something in her ear. The problem he was having with trying to not focus on her lips. 

Claire found herself having similar problems. She also found herself wondering if he’d like her running outfit before she would head out to meet him. It was warmer out now, and clothes were becoming a little more revealing. She noticed she caught his eye on a couple occasions


	3. Cold Water

One morning as Neil entered the hospital, Audrey casually asked if he and Claire were still running together. 

“Yeah” he replied   
“And she’s the only on your rotation currently?” Audrey asked.  
“Yes. Andrews has Park and Murphy” he replied  
“I think this week we should swap it out” she told him as she turned to go into her office. 

It didn’t make any sense to him what the point was, but he knew when to pick his battles and this wasn’t one of them. Walking into the lounge he had patient files and handed them over.   
Dr. Park and Dr. Murphy, you are with me this week, Dr. Browne you’ll be with Dr. Andrews.”   
He instructed as he headed to his office. Claire didn’t give any reaction to the change. Although it did cause Park to raise his eyebrows. 

Claire wondered if she had done something wrong. Maybe that run with the sports bra and running shorts had taken things too far. He seemed ok with it as he chased her and grabbed her waist, but maybe there were second thoughts. She looked over the patient file as the thoughts ran through her head. “I guess I should go find Andrews” she said leaving. 

Melendez lifted his head and watched as she left. This week was going to suck. 

Alex and Shaun did their rounds and came back to report the information to Dr. Melendez. There was nothing overly interesting. Melendez listened to their cases and asked them for recommendations which they went back and forth over.   
“It’s not a competition” Melendez replied annoyed. “Get a full blood panel on Mr. Harrington and schedule an MRI” he instructed before getting up. Heading towards the elevator he noticed it was about to close so he quickened his pace to catch it. As it started to open again, he saw Claire standing there. 

“Dr. Melendez” she smiled like the cat that caught the canary.   
“Dr. Browne” he greeted as he stepped in. Once the door closed he leaned over and bumped her with his shoulder.   
“How’s it going with Andrews?”   
“Good. We have a transplant candidate” she said unenthusiastically   
“Transplant is a big deal” he replied  
“Yeah.” She forced a smile.   
“Just so you know, it wasn’t me.” He said as the elevator opened.  
“Oh. I thought maybe you were getting sick of me” she joked  
“Never” he smiled heading towards the cafeteria. 

Later, Claire headed back upstairs and sat in the lounge doing some research. Alex and Shaun walked in.   
“Hey” Park greeted.   
“Hey” Claire replied  
“How’s it going?” Alex asked  
“Good, we have a possible transplant patient” Claire replied  
“Lucky” Park lamented.   
“We’ve got a mystery patient we’re trying to figure out” he continued.   
“We have to get to our MRI” Shaun said getting a page that the lab was available.   
“Did you get the blood work?” Melendez asked entering the room.   
“Not yet, we are about to head down” Shaun replied.  
“Can you get on that?” Melendez replied impatiently. 

Melendez had seemed grouchy as the week went on. It was like a drug addict who couldn’t get a fix. At first, he’d catch himself and try and be aware but by the end of the week he had stopped doing that. He didn’t realize how accustom he had become to working with just Claire and how much he liked it. Thankfully, the week was almost over. 

He met Claire one morning for a run. He was getting used to this warmer weather attire. She stood by a bench stretching and he found himself pausing to watch before she noticed him. “Hey” she smiled.   
“Hey” he replied as he got ready to stretch. Before they started their run he pulled off his shirt and hung it over the bench. She gave him a once over as a reflex and he knew he had accomplished his goal.   
“You ready?” he asked innocently.  
“Um, yeah. Yeah, I’m ready” she replied   
He got a head start on her but she caught up quickly. Once she passed him she ran up to the grassy area and sat down before falling back.   
“tired?” he laughed as he sat beside her.   
She sat up, and playfully smacked his arm.   
“No”   
“What you’re saying and what I’m seeing are two different things” he laughed   
“Not tired, just hot” she stuck her tongue out.   
‘I’ve got some water in my bag” he said as stood and held out a hand for her.  
She accepted but got up faster than she though stumbling towards him causing their bodies to collide.   
“Ooph” she said hands on his shoulders as she balanced and his hands on her hips.   
They stood there for a few seconds. Biting her lip she looks up at him “Sorry, I uh, guess I had more energy than I thought” she laughs  
“No worries” he smiles his hands still resting on her hips, “run into me anytime” he replies.   
She moves her hands from his shoulders down to his chest, feeling the warm bare skin. Suddenly a dog comes over and starts barking breaking them out of this trance.   
“I’m so sorry! He got off his leash” the owner runs over to apologize  
“Oh, it’s ok. Hey buddy” Claire smiles petting the dog before they left.   
Getting over to Neil’s bag he takes out two bottles of water and hands her one.   
“Mmm” she says the cold water offering relief.   
He takes a sip of his also but is distracted by her.   
“Still hot” he asked.  
“It’s better” she says taking another sip.   
He takes the lid off his bottle again and splashes her with some water.  
“AHHHH!” she squeals, “Neil!”  
He laughs and runs but before he knows it she tackles him.   
“Damn Browne you play linebacker in high school?” he jokes as she tackles him to the ground  
She sits up straddling him and douses him with cold water.   
“COLD!” he says as his hands grab her thighs.   
Her eyes light up with mischief. “You started it”   
He laughs and looks up at her when she seems to suddenly realize the position that they are in.  
“It was worth it though” he tells her as he suddenly flips her on to her back.  
“Check mate” he says resting on his elbows over top of her.   
She laughs “That was cheating”   
“No, it was all fair game” he replies his lips so close she can almost taste them. They sit in the moment for a few seconds while it feels like forever. Claire pokes his side so that he jumps and moves to the side of her.   
“I’ll get you” he laughs   
“So I should be sure to stay on Andrew’s rotation?” she joked.  
Neil put his hand over his chest like it hurt “Ouch” he laughed.   
“I better get going so I can head in” she says standing up. He gets up too, “Yeah me too.”   
The thought crosses his mind to suggest a joint shower to save time and water, but he knows that’s not a good idea. She can tell he’s in thought but isn’t sure about what.   
“I’ll see you later” she smiles as they get to their cars.


	4. Dr. Romano

Neil was dropping off some papers in Dr. Lim’s office when he passed Marcus. “How’s it going?” Marcus asked.  
“Good, how about you?” Neil replied  
“Good. I’m thinking about requesting Claire stay on my rotation it’s been a nice change of pace this week” he says  
“I thought Murphy was your favorite” Neil replies back his brows furrowed.  
“I don’t have favorites” Marcus passes off   
“Mmmhmm” Neil says as he exits. He wanted to tell Andrews that next week he gets Claire back but knew that he was being baited. 

Later he sat in the lounge going over a patient with Alex and Shaun. He wasn’t satisfied with any of their suggestions finding holes in all of them. “Would you say that if Dr. Browne had suggested it?” Shaun asked. Alex perked up and couldn’t believe Shaun actually said it. “What?” Melendez looked at him and asked.   
“If Dr. Browne suggested we try this treatment would you have still said no?” Shaun repeated as if totally oblivious.   
“Murphy, I don’t care who suggested it- it isn’t a solution that fits this patient. What I would suggest is that you find one that will instead of making excuses” he said annoyed as he got up to leave.   
A few minutes later Alex saw Claire at the nurses' station.   
“Hey, you ok?’ she asked   
“Fine. Just trying to come up with a solution for this patient” he replied looking over a chart.   
“Melendez has been vicious this week” he commented sitting back in the chair “Shaun thinks it’s because you were taken off his rotation”   
“That’s ridiculous and I wish people would stop making comments like that” Claire rolled her eyes. It annoyed her but made her happy at the possibility at the same time. 

The following week Lim put Claire back on Melendez rotation along with Park. “He does seem in a better mood this week” Alex commented as they did their rounds.   
“Have you ever considered maybe it was just a bad week?” Claire asked annoyed.   
“I supposed” Park shrugged off. 

Neil found himself trying to balance taking Claire’s advice and opinions without appearing as though he valued them more than the others. It wasn’t her fault that she thought about the actual person too and not just the symptoms which is where some of the other residents had problems. She had been quieter than normal so when he saw her in the lounge alone, he decided it was as good a time as any to say something.

“Hey, I’m sorry if I pissed you off earlier,” he told her holding on to the back of a chair.   
“What?” she asked confused.  
“You’ve been quiet today; I wasn’t sure if it was me” he replied cautiously  
“I’m fine” she smiled   
He wasn’t buying it but felt like it wasn’t the time to push either. 

She was fine but trying to figure out this dance that she and Melendez had been doing. The almost but not quiet dance of stepping over the line. Yes, it annoyed her when it felt like he ignored her opinion to listen to another or added on an extra test just to satisfy someone, but she understood. She just needed to put some space between them but at the same time, didn’t want to. 

Things continued like this, and the following week Murphy and Park were both assigned to Andrews again. Claire was slightly relieved that it should make the week easier which was good because it was during her birthday but at the same time it blurred lines even more as they would wait in MRI labs waiting on testing, sitting close, whispering a joke- this dance they nearly perfected. 

Lim walked in shortly before they had to begin rounds. “Dr. Melendez, Dr. Browne, this is Dr. Tommy Romano, he is a Resident in Pediatrics, but I figured this would be a good time to expose him to surgery as well with Dr. Resnick out. 

“Hello Dr. Romano” Neil said extending a hand.   
“Nice to meet you” Claire said shaking his hand next.   
Dr. Romano seemed friendly enough. Melendez told him he could join Claire on rounds. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were bringing another resident up?” Neil asked annoyed, as he felt unprepared.   
“Would you have been ok with it if I had?” Lim asked  
“Yes. Absolutely” he answered.   
“Hmm. Well then it shouldn’t really be a problem now” she replied turning to leave. 

Claire and Tommy got along great as she took him on rounds with her. He told her about experiences in pediatrics and she shared some surgery stories. Melendez would be lying if he didn’t say he didn’t feel a slight bit jealous, however, he seemed to keep it in check. 

He even managed to avoid bringing it up while they were on a run the next morning. The same couldn’t be said though for Claire. “So what do you think of Dr. Romano?” she asked as she stretched  
“He seems nice. Knowledgeable” Neil replied  
Claire nodded.   
“You look like you want to say something” he stopped and looked at her  
“No, he’s nice. It’s a change from some of the others” she laughed.   
“I bet” he joked before getting a head start.


	5. Scut Work

The next morning when she walked in Dr. Romano and Melendez were talking with Dr. Park about sports. They were all very involved in the conversation. It was her birthday and while she didn’t expect or want anything, she sort of thought a text or just saying happy birthday would happen. She was essentially ignored when she walked in. She and Romano started their rounds to check on patients and run some test. The morning was going by quickly. They headed back into the lounge as they looked into a patient’s symptoms. 

Melendez came in and Claire explained the symptoms and her opinion. Dr. Melendez looked over at Tommy and asked for his opinion also. Tommy took his best guess on what it could be. “I think I saw something on that” Melendez replied looking for a printout when his phone rang. “Ok, Thanks” he said before hanging up.   
“Dr. Browne, I have someone coming in downstairs to drop something off to me, can you go pick it up?” he asked as he thumbed through the papers   
“I..” she paused. She was so mad she could scream “sure” she said giving him a death stare that he seemed to be avoiding.   
She got to the elevator hitting the button and complaining under her breath about scut work that Dr. Romano should be doing since he’s not even a surgical resident. This was ridiculous. She hit the elevator button again but it was still slow so she took the stairs. Maybe she should take her time getting down there she thought annoyed.   
There was a young man standing near the entrance and he smiled as she approached.   
“Claire?” he asked  
“Yes” she smiled. As bad as she wanted to be rude, it wasn’t his fault and she couldn’t. He sat his delivery bag down and pulled out a fancy bakery cake that had an ornate Happy Birthday decoration made out of chocolate on it as well as a stuffed doctor bear holding a heart with a small balloon that said Happy Birthday.   
All of her annoyance melted away and her eyes got watery as she fought to stop any tears.   
“Thank you” she said   
“Have a great birthday” he smiled and left.   
She was going to kill Neil. She was so glad she hadn’t made a big deal of being sent down here. Composing herself she went back upstairs.   
Walking into the lounge Melendez tries not to laugh at the smirk on her face.   
Dr. Romano looks at the items in her hand.   
“Oh! It’s your birthday! Happy Birthday” he smiled as she sat the cake down  
“That’s today?” Neil asked pretending to have forgotten. “Happy Birthday!” he smiled  
“Did you get the folder from downstairs?” he asked confused.  
“I must’ve forgotten, I got distracted” she replied  
“I’ll let it pass since it’s your birthday” he smiled.   
“That’s a nice cake” Dr. Romano said looking at it on the table.  
“That bakery is almost impossible to get an order from, you have to do it weeks in advance!” he commented.  
Claire smiled and looked at Neil.   
“Thank you” she mouthed while Dr. Romano googled the cake.   
Dr. Park and Dr. Murphy came in.   
“Cake” Shaun smiled.   
“It’s Claire’s birthday” Dr. Romano commented.  
Melendez shot a quick look, wondering why Dr. Romano acted as if he knew. Claire saw it from the corner of her eye and chuckled.   
They cut some cake and enjoyed a piece before getting back to work.


	6. Happy Birthday

Claire stopped in Melendez office before she left for the day.   
“Hey” she smiled stepping in.   
“Hey” he said standing up and walking around to the front of his desk.  
“You were ready to kill me” he laughed  
Claire pretended to be shocked  
“I’d never do such a thing”  
“Mmmhmm. I saw the death lasers when I asked you to go downstairs and get something for me.” He replied.   
“Ehh” she laughed.  
“You were like, no he’s not! He didn’t even say happy birthday! Why isn’t he sending Dr. Romano down, he’s not even a surgical resident!” he said overly animated  
“Ok, I don’t move like that” she rolled her eyes.  
“You wanted to” he pointed at her  
“Shut up” she stuck her tongue out.  
“Seriously though, thank you so much. It was beyond generous” she smiled looking down and then back up at him.   
“My pleasure” he replied.  
“Do you have birthday plans tonight?” he asked  
“No, I think I’m going to go home and enjoy the quiet” she replied. Birthdays have never been much of an even for her. He could hear the sadness in her voice. This was her first birthday after her mom passed and while they didn’t have a great relationship, he was sure it still weighed on her.   
“In that case, the museum is having an Art under the Stars exhibit tonight; I’ve got two tickets. I think you should come with me” he offered.   
“Sure, that sounds fun” her face lit up.   
“Great, give me 10 minutes and I’ll meet you downstairs” he smiled that she seemed to be excited about it. 

“This is beautiful,” she said looking at the art pieces set up outside the museum, lights handing above. It looked like a scene from a picture or movie. “It is” Neil smiled grabbing two glasses of champagne. They walked up to one painting and looked. Claire turned her head sideways, pursed her lips and tried to figure it out. She then turned her head to the opposite side and tried to look at it from that angle. Neil watched, absently placing his hand on the small of her back. 

“What is it? She asked out loud.   
“It’s a representation of mortality and life.” He explained. “The inner portion has light and reflects hope and new beginnings, then the dark color represents depth..” he continued as she turned her head and listened in amazement. He took a sip of his champagne and continued looking ahead although he could see her expression from the corner of his eye. 

“Wow” she said as if she was breaking the spell he put over her as she listened to him. “I didn’t know you were an art connoisseur” she said impressed. He turned and looked at her taking a deep breath, “I just made it all up” he smiled. Claire looked the other way and shook her head. “But it sounded good” he said leaning over her shoulder and whispering in her ear. 

His breath against her ear tickled causing her to let a giggle slip. “You fooled me” she laughed as they continued walking. As the night came to an end he walked her to her car opening the door as she hit the keyfob making her smile.   
“For the birthday girl” he smiled.   
“Thank you.” She placed her hand over his that was resting on the top of her car door, “for everything. Earlier today, tonight, it was all amazing and made it special” she said as she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, harder and faster as each word came   
Neil smiled, and then she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “It’s a birthday I won’t forget” she said wrapping her arms around his neck for a hug. 

One arm wrapped around her the other stayed on the door of the car as a way to hang on to some sense of self control. He could smell the sweet scent of her hair. He kissed the crook of her neck. “You deserve amazing” he said in her ear before she pulled back from their embrace. The taste of her skin tingling on his lips.   
Her hand rested on his arm feeling the fabric of his jacket. She wasn’t ready for the night to end. His hand taking hers and rubbing his thumb over the back of it, standing in silence that made them both want to scream, thinking that maybe this small touch would be enough but knowing that it wasn’t. Neil gently released her hand looking up at the night’s sky, as a small ironic chuckle escaped him lips.  
“I want to so bad, but we can’t” he said almost choking on the words.   
Claire let her hand fall from his arm, with a nod as she looked up and their eyes met,  
“but it’s my birthday” she said with a sad smile as she looked down and adjusted the keys in her hand.   
“Good..” she started to say before Neil’s lips were on hers in a passionate kiss. His hands roaming the sides of her body as he teased her with his tongue.  
“Mmmm” she moaned against his mouth.   
She shut the drivers side door of her car and without breaking their contact led him backwards to her backseat door. It wasn’t ideal, but if they got in the car to drive somewhere chances are one of them would come to their senses and she wasn’t ready for that.   
The backseat was cramped, but would have to work. She led him into the car and as he slid in she straddled his lap to continue their kiss. His hands now working on unbuttoning her shirts to feel her skin, he removed her shirt, kissing her neck and she undid the buttons of his shirt.   
“Oh my mmm.” Claire moaned as he ran his hands up her side. Kissing his lips as she finished the buttons, grinding her body against his lap, feeling his anticipation.  
“God, you’re beautiful” he told her his hands running down her thighs.   
She smiled seductively as she unbuckled his belt, her hand rubbing over the fabric of his pants.   
“Claire” he moaned as he pulled her mouth back to his lips.   
He managed to flip her onto her back, kissing her stomach and undoing the button of her jeans. She smiled and bit her lip as he kissed her along her hip bone, her breath catching. He kissed her stomach, then using his tongue to make his way back to her neck. Just as he hooked his fingers in her jeans to removed them his phone started to ring.   
Her heart stopped and she looked at him like a deer in headlights. He kissed her again hoping that the phone would just stop but when it rang again he knew it was the hospital.   
“Sh*t” he said grabbing the phone off the floorboard.  
“Melendez” he answered closing his eyes trying to think  
“What happened?” he asked looking concerned  
“I’ll be right there” he said hanging up.

What’s wrong? Claire asked grabbing shirt from the floor covering herself. “There was an accident with a bus and they’re bringing trauma patients into the hospital and need help.   
“Should I go in?” she asked trying not to focus on her heartbreaking in this moment.   
“It might be helpful” he replied grabbing his shirt and putting it back on.   
She nodded, trying to hold in the emotion she was feeling. He climbed out of the backseat and she was behind him. 

“Ok, I’ll see you there.” She replied as she opened the driver's side door.   
“Ok” he said hating the sad look on her face. He placed his hands on the side of her face and kissed her again. “Happy Birthday.”


	7. Mind Games

A minute after Claire had gotten in the car, she received a call from the hospital to come in. It was a busy night and she was mostly in the ER. People were frustrated and rude, and she was working at the fastest pace she could. By the time it died down it was 2 am. She was sitting at the nurses’ station trying to finish up a couple charts. She wanted so badly to fall over and go to sleep but pushed her way through to finishing up the chart. She heard voices coming down the hall and sat up straight taking a deep breath and blinking to try and wake herself up. 

As the voices got closer, she realized who it was and there was a slight feeling of… jealousy. The fact that she felt it made her feel silly. She had no right; they were colleagues after all. 

“I just almost lost a guy 4 times on the table” Melendez scoffed.   
“So your inability to keep a patient stable means your night was harder?” Lim asked mockingly  
“Please” He rolled his eyes as they walked towards the Emergency Room. 

Audrey noticed Claire at the ER desk but didn’t say anything. She patted Neil on the back, “It’s ok young Jedi, one day you will learn from the Master” she said jokingly with a smile. She could feel his body tense as he noticed Claire at the nurse’s station. 

“How’s it going Dr. Browne?” Audrey asked   
“It’s going” Claire said with a big sigh and tired eyes. “It’s been a long night” she chuckled  
“So true” Audrey agreed  
Neil stood and watched Claire.   
“Hell of a way to end a birthday huh?” he finally spoke.   
Claire laughed “Yeah, I didn’t see this coming”   
Audrey looked over at Neil, “You ready?” she asked knowing what it seemed to imply.  
“Huh?” Neil asked confused  
Claire watched the interaction for a second before pretending to finish up a patient’s chart that was actually completed. She wanted to throw up. She shouldn’t feel like this and she wasn’t sure if she was more annoyed with the situation or her lack of control over her feelings.   
“To leave.” Audrey replied. 

No, Audrey wasn’t jealous however she did need to figure out what was going on between the two of them because they were essentially under her command.  
“I thought I’d walk out with you since there’s not too many people around” Audrey said.  
“Yeah, um. I can do that. Sorry, it’s been a long day” he rubs his head.  
Looking over at Claire he asks, “You almost done?”  
She looks up “I’ve got a couple more and then I’m done. You guys have a good night”   
Neil felt like her “you guys” was a knife she was throwing, and if it was, he understood.   
“Goodnight” Audrey replied as she turned to leave.   
“Night” Neil smiled 

As they walked out Audrey was a few steps ahead of him, when he asked “What was that about?” she stopped and turned to face him.  
“Excuse me?” she played innocent  
“Back there. What was that about?” Neil asked  
“Neil, what are you talking about?” she asked  
“You made it sound as though we were leaving together” he replied  
“I asked if you were ready. Just like I would have any other person that I thought was walking out at the same time on a late night.” She said moving closer to him.   
“Why was it so weird?” she asked  
Neil shook his head, “It’s not, I’m just tired” he forced a smile.  
“You know, Claire is on track to become Chief Resident. It’s important that she doesn’t get thrown off track” she says, her eyes searching Neil’s face. She was poking around, and he knew it.  
“Listen, it’s late and I don’t have the energy to play mind games” Neil said as he started to walk again.  
“I’m not playing mind games Dr. Melendez” she said firmly, “I can see the way you look at her. EVERYBODY does. I’m just telling you that you could ruin her very promising career if you aren’t careful.”   
“Goodnight Dr. Lim” He said as they got to her car.   
He walked a little farther to his and sat down. The thought crossed his mind to walk back to the emergency room and see if Claire was done. Then again, if Lim found out she’d be irate. He hit the steering wheel with his hand. “Ugh!” he started the car and pulled out. Leaving, he noticed that Audrey hadn’t left yet until after he passed by. 

Claire finished up her last chart when one of the nurses came over to ask for assistance.   
“Did you page the On Call Doctor?” Claire asked   
“Yes, three times and they haven’t come yet. This patient needs to see someone” The nurse said frustrated.   
“Ok, ok, I’ll be right there” Claire replied taking a deep breath.   
The nurse handed her the chart and Claire opened it up.   
The patient was a 4-year-old girl who had fallen and hit her head earlier. Her parents brought her in because she had become unusually agitated and was lethargic.   
“It’s the middle of the night. Maybe that’s why she’s lethargic” Claire thought to herself as she headed towards the patient’s room.   
“Hi, I’m Dr. Browne, is this Julie?” she asked sanitizing her hands.   
The girl’s mother was sitting on the bed beside her with a tear stained face. “She likes to be called Jules” she replied trying to smile.  
“Hi Jules” Claire said touching her arm. She lifted her eyelid to check her eyes.   
“When did she fall and how?” Claire asked feeling on the child’s head and neck.   
“Around 5:30ish I think. She jumped off the couch and hit a chair before her head slammed onto the coffee table. Shortly after a bruise came up and then seemed to bubble out.” The mother explained.   
“It’s my fault, I was trying to finish up some work and do dinner and I told her to leave me alone” the mother began sobbing. “I’ve told her a million times not to jump on the furniture, I should have just let her hold the ipad like she asked so she would’ve sat” she shook her head crying. Claire grabbed some tissues and handed them to her.   
“Listen to me, these things happen. It is not your fault. I’m going to get a couple scans and check everything out, ok?” she said placing her hand on the mothers.   
“Ok, can I come with her?” she asked  
“No, we have to take her for the scans, but I promise I’ll take good care of her and will have her back as soon as I can. I’m going to go get this scheduled and will be right back to get her.” Claire said as she exited. 

She was so tired, and she looked at the nurse who had first gotten her.   
“Did the On Call ever come?” she asked rubbing her temples  
“No” the nurse said annoyed.  
“Ok. Page them one more time to get out here. I’m taking care of this patient, but this is ridiculous and if you have to go knock on doors” she instructed.   
Claire scheduled the test and went back to get the patient. The mom was pacing the room.   
“Ok, I’m going to take her now, but it shouldn’t take too long” Claire smiled trying to reassure the mom.   
The mother nodded, holding on to a bunny. “Can she take this? In case she wakes up? She always has it with her and I don’t want her to be scared if she wakes up in the middle of it” she explained.   
“She can’t have it during the test, but I’ll take it in case she wakes up so that it will be there” Claire said laying it beside the young girl.   
“Thank you” the mom replied tears threatening to start falling again.  
“We’ll be back shortly” 

Claire did the MRI as the young girl slept. She didn’t see anything on the scan but wanted to be totally sure. She tried to contact Pediatrics for a consult, but they were all busy. She decided to contact Dr. Romano to see if he could offer some assistance. 

The little girl woke up briefly screaming on the way back to her room and Claire gave her the bunny before she fell back asleep. 

She wheeled the girl into her room, the mother so nervous she practically jumped out of the chair. 

“I’m waiting on test results so it will be a little longer, but in the meantime, we are going to hook Jules up to some monitors just as a precaution.” She explained. 

She went over to a computer to do some research on child head injuries and TBI’s. Her heart hurt for the mom who was obviously very concerned. Thirty minutes later she felt a hand on her shoulder causing her to jump.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Dr. Romano said stepping back.  
Claire laughed, “It’s ok, I was just reading up on this information,” she said grabbing the chart.   
“Sorry for calling you in, Peds was busy and I just wanted to be sure on this case” she explained  
“No worries, I’m happy to help” he smiled taking the chart.   
“The scan looks good to me, but I wanted a second opinion” she said watching as he looked over it.  
“Yeah, I agree with you. I know the bump is scary but it’s even worse if there isn’t one because that’s when something could be happening internally.” He said as he gestured at the scan.  
Claire nodded.   
“Want to go with me to talk to them?” she asked  
“Sure” he replied happily.

“Hi, Ms. Smith, this is Dr. Romano, he is with Pediatrics. I called him for a consult on Jules.” Claire introduced as Dr. Romano shook the mom’s hand and then did a quick exam of Jules.   
“Everything looks fine. I know this bruise and bump look gnarly but in reality, it’s good that you see that because otherwise, it could be internal causing pressure in the brain. I’m sure that doesn’t make you feel a whole lot better looking at it.” He explained “It’s going to look bad for a few days, but if she starts to feel nauseous, or vomits let us know immediately. Otherwise she should be fine.” 

The mother covered her face with her hands. “Thank you so much, both of you” 

The doctors both smiled. “You’re welcome” 

Jules started to stir again in the bed. “Mama!” she yelled opening her eyes.   
“Hey baby, Mama is right here.”  
“I’m hungry” she whined   
Claire and Dr. Romano laughed.   
“I think I know where some pudding is, if you’d like some” Claire offered.  
“I love pudding’ Jules replied holding tightly to her bunny.  
“Give me two minutes” Claire smiled as she and Romano left the room. 

“You’re good with kids. Actually, people too” he laughed.  
“Thanks. And Thanks again for coming in, I feel bad that I called I just needed to make sure I was right” she smiled.   
“Anytime” he told her. “I’m going to go do some pediatric rounds since I’m set to start in a couple hours”   
Claire smiled, “I’m going to go get some pudding” she replied pointing.


	8. Jealousy

By the time Claire finished up with the patient and chart, it was after five. Going home was pointless, so she went into the locker room and took a shower and changed into some new scrubs. The “on call” room was occupied so she grabbed a cup of coffee and went up to the lounge. Within minutes of sitting down she was out. 

Just over an hour later Melendez walked into his office noticing something on the couch in the lounge. He looked through the glass to see Claire asleep. Looking over he saw someone open the door. Dr. Romano started to walk in when he noticed Claire and then looked up to see Melendez and backed out of the lounge. He walked over to Melendez’s door. 

“She’s been here all night” Romano explained.  
“I thought she was leaving just after 2,” Melendez asked confused.  
“She was but they couldn’t get an answer from the On-Call doctor, so she took a case that come in. It was a pediatric patient and peds was busy so she called me” he explained.  
“Oh” Melendez replied wondering why she didn’t call him.   
“I’d take it easy on her she seemed exhausted” Romano commented looking toward the lounge.  
No sooner did he say it than Shaun walked into the lounge announcing, “Good Morning!” startling Claire.   
“Hmm?” she sat up and rubbed her eyes  
“You were sleeping. It’s time to get started” Shaun told her.  
“Oh, yeah. I’m up” she said standing “I was here late” she explained as she yawned.  
Park walked into the lounge, “You look like hell, must’ve had an eventful night” he said thinking she was out for her birthday.   
“I was here all night.” She replied getting some coffee.   
“I didn’t get called…” Park says pulling out his phone  
“Or I missed it” he said the remorse evident.   
Doctors Melendez and Romano entered the lounge from his office.   
“It’s fine” Claire replied  
“Let’s hope Dr. Andrews feels the same” Melendez commented.   
“Go ahead and get your rounds started, there’s a training later this morning” he instructed.  
“Claire, if you want to go get some sleep, I can handle rounds” Romano offered.   
Neil was annoyed that Romano seemed to take it into his own hands as if he had the power to say that Claire could skip rounds.   
Claire could tell that Melendez was annoyed.  
“I’m fine. I can do rounds” she replied standing up

A little while later Audrey came into Neil’s office,”I heard that the On Call Doctor from last night wasn’t answering pages, so Claire was stuck here until this morning” she said leaning on his desk  
“I heard” he said sitting back.   
“She’s on rounds this morning?” Audrey asked curiously  
“Yes” he replied  
“You couldn’t get someone to cover her?”   
“She said she could do it. Did she come to you and say something?” he asked  
“No, of course she didn’t”   
“Then why am I being grilled over it?” he asked wondering if Romano went to her.  
“I heard that she got stuck in the ER last night, and then I saw her on rounds, so I thought I’d ask. I am allowed to do that” she replied answering his apparent challenge.   
Claire and Romano walked into the lounge seeing Lim in Melendez’s office.   
“Is it true they dated?” Romano asked as Claire was stuck in thought.  
“Hmm? Oh, yeah a while back before she was Chief” she commented wondering what they were talking about.  
“That would be weird, dating your boss” he replied sitting down.  
“Yeah” Claire said looking away just as Melendez noticed them in the room next door.   
She took a breath and went over the patient information. 

“I’ve got to get back to work” he said standing up  
“Tell Claire I’ll have someone cover her ER duty this afternoon” Audrey instructed  
“Yes ma’am.” He replied dryly. 

“You guys done?” Melendez asked opening the door.   
“Yes” Romano replied.  
Claire looked at the chart a second longer to get her feelings in check.   
She smiled “all done”  
“What do we have?” Melendez asked as Claire gave an evil stare  
Romano started going over the patient information and Claire avoided looking at Melendez.   
It was general updates, nothing pressing.   
“Alright. If you want to go take a break you’ll have some time before ER rounds this afternoon. 

Dr. Romano stood to head out.   
“Can I get you something from the café Claire?” he asked  
“No, I’m good, thank you” she smiled as she pushed her chair back.   
She wanted to ask Melendez what the conversation with Lim was about. It wasn’t her place to ask though and she knew it. It didn’t make her any less frustrated or annoyed.   
“Dr. Lim said you can skip your ER rounds, so you can try and get a little sleep” Neil said sitting the i-Pad on the table.   
“I’m fine, I just need some caffeine” she said standing up.   
“Claire”   
She felt her heart skip a beat when he said her name that way. She looked over at him.   
“Take a break and get a little rest. You can’t run on empty” he said concerned.  
“Ok” she gave in.  
“Hey” he stopped her before she left. “How come you didn’t call me last night when you got stuck here?”   
“Because if you were with Dr. Lim, I think I would have died” she first thought but didn’t reply. “Because it was a peds case and when I couldn’t get a consult with them, I just figured I’d ask Dr. Romano” she shrugged  
“Hmm” he nodded.  
“Was I wrong?” she asked  
“No, I was just wondering”  
She stood there for another few seconds before turning to leave. 

Neil desperately wanted to bring up the night before. He just didn’t know how. He wasn’t the kind of person to feel jealous over things, especially stupid things but it was getting to him that Claire and Dr. Romano seemed to have this fast friendship. 

Claire went to the On-Call room to get a little sleep. She laid her head back on the pillow, but her thoughts were invaded by Neil. Jealousy over Lim that she knew shouldn’t be there and had to get past. Annoyance that he didn’t see it. “Ugh” she groaned trying to get a little rest.   
She pushed aside the thoughts of jealousy and imagined the fantasies instead. It wasn’t really right either but at least she’d get some sleep.

She walked into his office to drop off some patient files setting them on the inbox on his desk. He looked up and smiled.   
“Hey” he said sitting back.  
“Hey” she smiles, “here are the files for the patients in 334 and 336.”   
“Thanks” he replies fidgeting with a pen.  
“Hey Claire” He stands up coming around to the other side of the desk  
“Yeah” she pauses standing close enough she can smell his cologne and it fogs her brain.  
“About last night…” he starts to say, eyes darting from hers to her lips.  
“Mmhmm” she replies simply  
He puts one hand around the back of her neck and the other on her waist as his mouth covers hers in a passionate kiss.   
Backing her up to his desk where she now sits as his hands work on unbuttoning her blouse as he kisses her neck. She wraps her legs around his waist pulling him closer to her.   
“I want you so bad” he whispers in her ear  
“You have no idea” she replies undoing his belt and pants button. Pulling him close, she tells him in his ear “I want to feel you inside me” making him moan in response 

Suddenly a light comes on and like a jolt knocks her out of her dream.   
“Oh sorry!” another doctor says realizing someone was in the room.   
“It’s ok, It’s fine. I was about to leave she said feeling as though cold water had been thrown on her.

She got herself together and went into the resident’s lounge. She still felt a little flustered after her dream and sat down in a chair to look over some research.

“Feel better?” Neil asked as he walked in.  
“Yeah” she smiled before looking at the screen again.   
He stood and stared at her for a minute. Realizing it, she looks over at him  
“What?” she asks  
“Nothing” he says heading back to his desk.   
Dr. Romano comes in, “looks like today will be my last day hanging out with you guys, Pediatrics is busy and need me back down there” he sighed

“That sucks” she scrunched her nose in response.   
“Yeah, but you know, don’t be a stranger.” He smiled  
Neil could see their friendly chat from his office and the curiosity was killing him.  
He decided to go in for a cup of coffee although there was one he had only recently poured on his desk. 

“Dr. Romano. How are things going?” he asked walking in.  
“Good. I was just telling Dr. Browne today will apparently be my last day with you guys. Pediatrics is busy”  
“Oh. That’s a shame” Neil replied smiling as his back was towards them.   
“You should think about pediatrics” Dr. Romano tells Claire  
“Yeah, I don’t know” she replies  
“Yeah she would have wasted almost four years on cardiothoracic surgeries, successful ones at that.” Neil commented.   
“I’m sure they’d still come in useful” Romano persuaded.   
“We should go out for drinks tonight” he offered  
“Umm” Claire laughed nervously  
“It’s like a send off” Romano explained.   
“Dr. Melendez- You in?” Romano asked as a way to get Claire to say yes. Maybe she wasn’t sure about it being the two of them.  
Neil raised his eyebrows and looked at Claire.   
“Sure, why not” he smiled  
“Claire?” Romano asked again  
“Ok, sure” she agreed with a chuckle.   
“Better get the day finished up” he smiled  
Claire sat at the table and looked into Melendez’s office. This was going to be interesting.   
Melendez saw Claire looking his way from the corner of his eye.   
“What the f did I just get myself into?” he wondered as for some reason he couldn’t help but press his luck when it came to her.


	9. Second Thoughts

Claire finished up her research and stuck her head in Melendez’s door.   
“I’m heading home but will see you shortly” she smiled   
“Sounds good,” he said watching her leave. 

Maybe he should back out and not show up. That would probably be the wisest idea, but the thought of Dr. Romano and Browne together hitting it off didn’t sound so great either. 

Dr. Romano finished up his ER Work and got ready to head out. He looked forward to getting to see Dr. Browne outside the hospital, even if that meant he had to invite Dr. Melendez along. He liked Melendez well enough, it just wasn’t his ideal situation for getting to know his new colleague. 

He got to the bar first and found a table. A few minutes later Neil came in. Looking around he noticed Dr. Romano sitting at a table. “Hey” Romano waived  
“Hey” Neil said setting his coat down. “They’re busy tonight” he looked around.   
“Yeah, it’s crazy” Romano agreed.   
“Hot Damn” Romano let out as he saw Claire walk in.   
Melendez looked at him, surprised and not knowing what he was referring to until he lifted his hand so Claire would see them.   
She walked towards them, wearing jeans and a black satin cami top with her hair down.   
“Sorry, I was running behind” she said getting to the table.   
“No worries” Romano said greeting her with a hug.  
It took Claire by surprise, but she hugged him back.   
“Hey” Neil greeted with arms outstretched. If Romano was getting a hug, so was he.   
It made Claire laugh on the inside. 

“So, Dr. Romano, are you happy to be going back to pediatrics?” she asked  
“Please, call me Tommy. I’ve had an interesting few days with you guys but yeah, it’s where my heart is so I’m happy”, he nodded. 

“You should seriously consider thinking about switching over, you’re great with kids.” He said smiling as he took a drink.  
Neil rolled his eyes. “She’s good with most anybody” he commented  
“Yeah, I like kids, but I think I like where I am. It takes a lot to be able to work with kids, I admire those who do” she replied  
Neil listened and thought to himself “Thanks Claire. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.” Thankfully, the thought wasn’t said out loud.   
Tommy lit up. “Just think about it, maybe do a week visit and see how it goes” he suggested.   
“Maybe” Claire said for the sake of ending the topic.   
“Can I get you another drink?” he asked   
“Oh, um.. yeah; thank you” she replied   
“I think he likes you” Neil nodded in Tommy’s direction.   
“Hmm, as much as Lim likes you?” she shot back feeling she could use the alcohol as an excuse for her boldness if needed.   
Neil looked applaud.  
“Oh don’t play innocent with me. You know she was trying to prove a point last night with the are you ready to leave.” Claire rolled her eyes as she dramatically re-enacted the scene.   
Neil almost spit out his beer. “Ok, I’m positive she was not playing with her hair or shimming her shoulders” he tried to keep a straight face.

“She wanted to” Claire said looking around.   
“Are you jealous Browne?” Neil asked stepping closer  
“Are you?” she asked back

Tommy came back with her drink as she stood with Melendez in stand-off.   
Neil shook his head “Nothing I can really do about it” he thought as she smirked knowing is lack of a verbal answer was a yes. 

“Is your hair naturally curly? It’s beautiful” Tommy says handing Claire her drink.  
Are you serious? Neil thinks to himself as he takes a deep breath.   
“Yeah” Claire gives a little laugh.   
“How much longer do you have on your residency?” Tommy asked jumping from topic to topic.   
“Six months, for this initial.” Claire tells him.  
“Are you hoping to stay at the hospital” he asks  
“Yeah, I mean it would be nice. I guess we’ll see” she replies   
“Hey, did you hear how Andrew’s surgery went on the patient’s foot that got caught in the lawn mower? Claire asked in an attempt to bring Melendez into the conversation. She could tell he was about done for the evening.  
“Um, from what I hear it went well. They were able to repair most the damage. They’ll have to see if he still has feeling in it tomorrow” he explained finishing off his drink.   
“That sounds painful” Tommy replied.  
“Seriously” Claire shook her head. 

“Excuse me for a minute, I’ve got to run to the ladies room” she smiles, hoping Melendez didn’t decide to skip out when she stepped away. She didn’t think he would, then again she wouldn’t blame him. 

“I hope this doesn’t seem forward” Tommy began “but do you know if Claire is seeing anyone?” he asked as soon as she was out of earshot.   
Neil felt his body tense up “I don’t think she is, but I’m not totally sure.” He answered before excusing himself to get another drink. Standing at the bar waiting he thought about how his feelings for Claire weren’t right. There were ethical questions with her being a resident, and implications it would have for both of them. Maybe now was the best time to step back.


	10. Boiling point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning- this one gets risque (to put it lightly lol)

Claire came out of the ladies’ room and didn’t see Neil. She scanned the room quickly and saw him at the bar. Breathing a sigh of relief, she walked over and stood beside him.  
“I thought you left” she said bumping his shoulder.  
He chuckled, “Not yet” grabbing his beer.  
“Three shots” she asked as Neil raised an eyebrow  
They headed back to the table with the shots.  
“Oh, hey” Tommy smiled seeing the shots.  
“I thought we’d do a shot in honor of hospital craziness” Claire said handing him one.  
They clinked glasses and downed their shots. 

They made some small talk, and there were a couple of Tommy’s friends that came into the bar and chatted with them. One who also seemed to think Claire was cute. Neil observed from the corner of his eye trying not to be overly obvious or jealous. He was doing an excellent job as Claire was pretty sure he didn’t care at all and if she were honest it annoyed and frustrated her but she didn’t know why. 

“I’m going to call it a night. It’s been a pleasure. Dr. Romano- don’t be a stranger” Neil smiled  
“You know, I should probably get going too so I’ll walk out with you” Claire said seeing an opportunity to exit.  
“You don’t have to go” Tommy said “I can walk you out later” he offered.  
Neil looked from Tommy to Claire.  
“Thanks, I should probably call it a night though. It was nice to meet you guys” she smiled and waved.  
She felt tipsy, which showed when she mis-stepped coming out of the door and almost tripped, Neil helping her steady.  
“Trouble with you liquor there Browne?” he joked  
“No” I just stepped wrong in these heels. You try walking on sticks” she laughed.  
“No Thanks” he smiled.  
They got to the parking lot on the side of the building in their mostly quiet walk.  
“Where are you parked?” he asked looking around  
“Oh, um… I took an Uber here. I just didn’t want to be stuck in there and was afraid if I did then when I went to call an Uber he’d offer to take me home and it would get weird” she admitted with a shrug.  
Neil looked down at the ground and chuckled.  
“I’ll be fine” she said picking up her phone to pull up the app.  
“I’m not leaving you out here alone”  
“I’m a big girl, I can handle it” she brushed his comment off  
“You’re stubborn is what you are”  
She stopped what she was doing and looked at him annoyed with this attitude he had developed. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was her underlying frustrations, but she was ready to give him what for.  
“I can drive you home, or I can sit and wait for your Uber with you. Your choice” 

“Last time we were in a car together…” she trailed off thinking as she leaned against the building.  
A smile came across Neil’s face before fading. “Yeah, that was probably a bad idea”  
Claire felt like she had been sucker punched. There was a knot in her throat.  
“Yeah” she looked down, twisting her mouth  
Neil stepped closer, pushing curls back off her face.  
“Probably shouldn’t happen again” he replied his fingers running down her arm sending chills through her body.  
Claire bit her lip reaching out to run her hands down his chest.  
“You’re right” she conceded dropping her hands  
Neil clenched his teeth and swallowed hard. “I’ll give you a ride home” he said feeling this slip through his hands.  
She stared out the window on the drive to her apartment. He would glance over but mostly kept his eyes on the road.  
Pulling into her complex she sits up straight and grabs her purse.  
“You ok?” he asked  
She pressed her lips together, ready to say she was fine and tell him to have a good night. She looked at him then down to grab her keys from her purse.  
“No, not really but I will be” she replied now looking at him keys in hand.  
“Thanks for giving me a ride home” she told him opening the door and getting out.  
Neil sat there for a second, before turning off the ignition and catching up with her.  
“Are you mad at me?” he asked trying to get her to stop.  
“No, I’m not mad” she replied shaking her head  
“Then what?” he asked following her to her door.  
“Then nothing” she said throwing her hands up. “Thank you for driving me home. Have a good night.”  
She was beyond mad. Claire Browne throwing hands up and shaking her head meant you went on the verge of trouble.  
“I’m sorry if it was something I did” he replied as she put the key in her door.  
Claire laughed, “I’m not mad. Thank you for driving me home” she replied her eyes a mix of tipsy, angry and tired which under any circumstance wasn’t good.  
“You are mad. It’s all over your face” he pushed. 

He knew he probably shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help himself. He wasn’t sure how this situation was going to end but it bothered him to leave her angry at him. He needed her to understand that it wasn’t what he wanted, but how it had to be. 

“I’m not mad Neil. I’m frustrated, a little drunk and horny” she blurted out. He was taken by surprise at her bluntness and didn’t quiet expect that.  
His lips parted as if words should come out but didn’t.  
She could see she had flustered him, but right now she just didn’t care. Her frustration was overflowing at this point and she was ready to explode.  
Neil tried to lighten the air with a joke, “did you change your mind, are you wanting me to call Romano?” he asked  
She looked at him with a rare death stare. It’s sufficient to say that his joke did not go over very well.  
“I’m sorry, I was” he scratched the back of his head nervously.  
“What I want…” Claire said said with her hand on the doorknob, “is for you to f**k me until I can’t take anymore” she let out frustrated sigh, “I’ll sleep it off and be fine” she said turning the door knob.  
“Claire” he said causing her to turn her head towards him rolling her eyes as she had one foot in the door.  
To her surprise his lips came crashing onto her, his hands in her hair. He stepped forward and she back until they were both inside the apartment without breaking their kiss. He kicked the door shut with his foot turning her around so her back was up against the door. Her hands unbuttoning his shirt, his lips on her neck. He moves back only to remove her top throwing it onto the floor. She wraps her arms around his neck, he places his hands just below her butt lifting her as she wraps her legs around his waist. Kissing her passionately he turns and carries her forgetting that it’s dark in there and he has no idea where he’s going. He runs into a table first, “Oww!” he groans  
She pulls back concerned “are you ok?” she ask  
“Fine” he says scanning the apartment as his eyes adjust to the darkness. He sees the couch to the right and heads that way falling onto it with her. Before she can catch her breath his lips are working their way down her stomach to the top of her jeans.  
“I..” she says leaning her head back  
He looks up and pauses, unsure. “You what?” he ask nervously hoping she doesn’t say this is a bad idea.  
“I don’t know how long I can take this” she says restlessly.  
Neil lifts his eyebrow. “Is that a challenge?” he ask unbuttoning her jeans and pulling them off with ease. His hands running up her thighs from her knees and over her lacy panties.  
“Hmm?” he ask  
She tries to compose her thoughts as he kisses her along the top of her panty line.  
He pauses for an answer. “I’m sorry I didn’t hear you”  
She laughs. “I can’t think like this”  
“Oh, does this help?” he asked rubbing her through her panties and placing warm breaths on her.  
“Hmm” she moans and instinctively bucks her hips towards him  
“Or do you want me to stop” he says moving back and leaving her feeling cold as he now sits at the end of the couch.  
“NO” she says quickly moving so she is now straddling his lap seeing the desire in his eyes as he pulls her close and unhooks her bra.  
“MMMM” she moans rocking against him. She unbuckles his belt and pulls it out of the buckle before unbuttoning and pulling the zipper down.  
As she rubs her hand over him he tosses his head back and it’s his turn to moan. She continues with her hand as she kisses his neck. She starts to grind her body against his as he holds tightly to her hips. His mouth tongue on her breast. She pulls back, slightly her hand freeing him from his boxers, stroking him slowly as she feels him against her panties.  
“Do you think this is a bad idea?” she ask as she purposely slows her movements.  
He looks at her, his mind foggy, “I don’t really want to think” he replies his breath ragged  
“What do you want” she ask drawing circles on his chest with her fingers feeling as though she is the one in control now  
“I want my d**ck in your p***y so bad” he admits in a low sexy voice.  
She wasn’t expecting him to say it quite like that and he’s knocked her off balance again he can tell and it makes this build up even worse. “I want that so bad” she says kissing him before getting up and holding her hand out for him to follow. They get to her room and he tosses her onto the bed, removing his pants and boxers completely before he places kisses working his way up her body.  
“Neil… please” she begs  
He closes his eyes, “f**ck” he thinks knowing he cannot hold out much longer  
“What?” he ask kissing her neck  
“F**ck me” she begs wrapping her legs around him.  
He wants to tease her, but he doesn’t. The look in her eye is fierce and drives him wild.  
He gives her what she ask for and she feels better than he could have ever imagined.  
Before the night is over he obliges two more times and once in the shower.  
She wakes up the next morning, at first wondering if it was a dream until she opens her eyes and sees him there asleep. Her first instinct is to smile but then the nerves set in. She tries to quietly sit up but he reaches over with his arm and pulls her close.  
“I can hear you thinking” he tells her.  
“Oh can you “ she says amused  
“MMhmm” he replies  
“What am I thinking?” she ask wondering if he has regrets.  
“You’re thinking, sex before or after breakfast” he grins opening his eyes.  
She smacks his arm playfully and shakes her head.  
He gets nervous that she’s feeling remorseful and starts to sit up.  
“Wrong.” She smirks  
“What were you thinking then?” he asked not making eye contact.  
“I was thinking” she pauses until he looks at her “table or countertop?”  
She sees the excitement on his face as he smiles and pulls her on to him.  
“Both” he grins maneuvering so he is now on top.  
“Ambitious” she smiles as her hands run through his hair.  
“You know me” he says before his lips meet hers again.


End file.
